Hi.

I was wondering if anyone knows of a decent g-code/ toolpath viewer? I would like to view the files i make before i cut them just to see if all is ok.

i tried qviewer and it doesnt do arcs well.

http://www.gsktechnologies.com/En/qview_cnc_gcode_viewer_autocad.htm

i use ace converter to make my g-codes.


thanks.

Try EZDNC. It's a shareware that you can't save files with, but the backplotter works real nice.

'Rekd

Also look at Discriminator. It's a text editor with a really nice 2D backplotter - all I've used for my own programming for several years now. The author says the free demo doesn't time out, and that none of the key features are disabled.


http://www.cncedit.com/SetupFiles.zip

I am using cnc simulator (http://www.cncsimulator.com/) by Microtech. It is free, all that they ask is you go back to the site every three months to get a free "petrol" token, so you can use the sim for another 3 months. Works great, but I am doing mostly 2d work at the mo, so unsure of it;s 3d capability.

Wow, kong, that program looks interesting! I'll read the docs and play with it some. Thanks.


Mike

The MicroTech CNC Simulator appears to have lots of capabilities. One major negative - the program crashed and when I tried to rerun it, threw up this dialog. Gonna be hard to get much practice in like this.

Look for a file in that directory with a creation date of when you ran it. There's likely a temp file that specifies if it's running, which didn't get deleted when the app crashed. (It may also be a reg entry, in which case it will be much harder to find.)

LoL, 4 hours??

'Rekd

BTW, you'd think they'd proof read their messages before release.. :rolleyes:

'Rekd

What you suggested was my first thought as well. I did find such a file, and deleted it. The program threw up a dialog saying the file was missing, recreated it in front of my eyes, then displayed the four-hour-dialog again.

A shame, because the program really does look interesting, in terms of a lot of capabilities at no cost. Won't impress the big-time CAM users, but for the rest of us it's a deal.

Setting the clock ahead four hours fooled it.

Crashed four times in an hour. Maybe it doesn't like XP? Will try it at work tomorrow on NT.

I have heard of this error before in this simulator. I THINK this is the NAG screen made by the author to make you want to pay for it...??? Someone should email the author about it. It's a wierd nag don't ya think?

Eric

Let me know what you come up with on NT please.

Is it crashing for the same reason each time?

'Rekd

Very irratating, it happens if you double click on an *.nc file you have created too. Any other program would open and display the code, but this one doesn't like it.

Tried it on NT today.

Didn't have a problem with crashing until I tried the "Gas" option (torch?). Then locked me up to the point where I had to use Task Manager to kill it, after which I had the four hour problem.

I had every audio feature I could find set on "Mute", but the program still found a way to wake the dead when it detected an error (apparently it evaluates your tool radius when plotting lines with cutter comp). As it isn't fully compatible with the inch system, it's hard to get metric tools and inch programs to coexist happily, and you can get unexpected and unwanted alerts.

Bottom line for me - flashy but too buggy to be of much value. I'll stick with my original recommendation of Discriminator, which works reliably and well for everyday 2D backplotting.

Thanks for the info.

'Rekd teh quietly removes bookmark and note to "check it out when I get time"

In Windows 2000 It crashed before I could figure out why I wasn't getting the results I wanted. Then, 4 hours later, another crash. After 3 or 4 times of crashing and waiting it gets old very quickly (in 4 hour increments ) Never touched it again.

Gerry

Hrmph. The only reason I didn't d/l it the other day was because I couldn't figure out why this guy wanted me to 'visit' his site every 3 months.. :bs:

So to avoid a (nuts) and a :mad: I decided to wait to see if anyone else got :stickpoke or (chair) while they weren't looking. I had a feeling there might be some (dark) involved so I said :nono:

'Rekd teh It's easy to learn by your own mistakes, but less painful to learn by someone elses.

Does anyone know of a link where i can get a copy of camview 3d?

I would like to try it.

Does anyone know of an autolisp program that will turn Autocad into a backplotter?

If you want a great program for checking and even generating g-code go to Flashcutcnc (http://www.flashcutcnc.com/html/dow.html)
and download the demoversion. It just won't export signals which you don't need unless you are using their signal generator. Mike.

Thank you for the information

Does anyone know of an autolisp program that will turn Autocad into a backplotter?

There is one in the AutoCAD forum here. GcodeIn.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2092

:banana: thanks!There is one in the AuotCAD forum here. GcodeIn.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2092

I used the free trial of EditNC and decided that it was worth the $200. everybody in the shop loves it and its nice to have a backplotter so that mistakes can easily be seen immedatly. the free 30 day trial (i think) is fully functional except for saving files but you can just copy the code and paste to notepad.